Post by Bonobo on Jun 15, 2008 16:40:03 GMT 1

Where is this car park full of old Migs? I'd love to see it. Is it part of the aviation museum?

hahaha Yes, it is a part of the collection but it is stored outside due to the lack of space. Do you know Krakow? You turn right into Markowskiego street tha leads to the museum. But one hundred meters before there is another turning right. Go past ARGE filling station, and the parking with old MiGs is next to the auto gas installers BKZ. Free entry!Click on this mapwww.bkzauto.pl/kontakt.htm

Krakow's most unsightly landmark, a 24-story tower known as "Skeletor" for its raw concrete structure, appears to have once again got bogged down in bureaucratic obstacles that will further put off its long-delayed completion.

A spokesman for the current owner, local real estate company Treimorfa, told the daily Gazeta Krakowska that he did not know when the project could be finished, but that the problem stemmed from disagreements between the investor and the authorities. According to local officials, the reason for the delay is that the investor has requested permission to build up the tower from its current 92 metres to 144, which is unacceptable for heritage protection authorities.

"The President of Poland has declared the layout of the Kleparz area where the Szkieletor stands a heritage site," province heritage conservator Jan Janczykowski told the paper. "You can't build anything there that would disturb the historical layout."

The tower, or rather its bare concrete structure, was originally built in 1979 for the National Technical Organisation (NOT), and has haunted the city's skyline since then.__._,_.___

Krakow's most unsightly landmark, a 24-story tower known as "Skeletor" for its raw concrete structure, appears to have once again got bogged down in bureaucratic obstacles that will further put off its long-delayed completion.

A spokesman for the current owner, local real estate company Treimorfa, told the daily Gazeta Krakowska that he did not know when the project could be finished, but that the problem stemmed from disagreements between the investor and the authorities. According to local officials, the reason for the delay is that the investor has requested permission to build up the tower from its current 92 metres to 144, which is unacceptable for heritage protection authorities.

"The President of Poland has declared the layout of the Kleparz area where the Szkieletor stands a heritage site," province heritage conservator Jan Janczykowski told the paper. "You can't build anything there that would disturb the historical layout."

The tower, or rather its bare concrete structure, was originally built in 1979 for the National Technical Organisation (NOT), and has haunted the city's skyline since then.__._,_.___

After two years, another idea:

Krakow’s “New Manhattan” Takes ShapeBrien Barnett | 7th July 2010

This article has been read 1660 times

Treimorfa aims to give Skeletor new life

The rising hulk of steel and concrete was erected 30 years ago near Rondo Mogilskie as part of an audacious plan to complete a series of high-rise buildings that would dominate the Krakow skyline and give testament to the modernisation of the city. It was a dream the communist authorities at the time held dear. But with the decline of the regime came an abrupt end to those plans. The finished core of the building has stood ever since, home to birds, graffiti and most recently, giant advertisements promoting blockbuster movies.

Last month, an investment group called Treimorfa, the latest owners of the property that contains the so-called Skeletor structure, announced revised plans to develop the tower and the area around it. Treimorfa is composed of a mixture of investors including Krakow development company GD&K Group.

The new plan calls for completing the 102.5m high-rise in a style similar to buildings seen in parts of central Manhattan in the United States. The tower, which when finished will be 10 metres higher than it is now, would become home to offices, a top-level restaurant with a panoramic view of the city and performance and display spaces. It would be the centrepiece of a plaza of smaller buildings for a hotel, more offices, cafes, shops and parking. The entire project will likely cost about 100 million euro, said Henryk Gaertner of the GD&K Group.

The plans for the development, which would include six buildings with more than 30,000 square metres of usable floor space, were scheduled to be presented in a series of hearings before the city in late June to gain permits and other permissions. The mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski, was present at the unveiling of the new plans in mid-June, a signal to some that this project has some official support.

Any development of the site is controversial given its history and that it would be the most dominant structure on the skyline. Some have voiced opposition based on arguments that the tower would mute the effect of the city’s current architecture, particularly the Old Town with Wawel Castle and its Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic buildings. The centre of the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Chief architect Marek Dunikowski of DDJM, an architectural firm with offices in Krakow and Warsaw, says the new design will draw on the best features of those styles, along with ideas from other significant buildings in the city, such as the National Museum, in an attempt to blend in the tower with the cityscape. But while it may draw design inspiration from the past, the “guts” of Skeletor may become quite modern. The building is planned to have open floor plans that suit modern office designers and should be replete with high-tech capabilities.

If the project receives the proper permits to begin work, the developers hope to have the tower completed within two years.

These things are changing now. Slowly, gradually, the countryside within the city will disappear. Or not? So that in 30 years time another forum maker will have a chance to boast of a regular farmhouse close to the city center?